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CHAPTER II. 



THE PUBLICATION OF THE 'VARIATION OF ANIMALS 

 AND PLANTS UNDER DOMESTICATION.' 



JANUARY 1867, TO JUNE 1 868. 



At the beginning of the year 1867 he was at work on the 

 final chapter — " Concluding Remarks " of the ' Variation of 

 Animals and Plants under Domestication,' which was begun 

 after the rest of the MS. had been sent to the printers in the 

 preceding December. With regard to the publication of the 

 book he wrote to Mr. Murray, on January 3 : — 



" I cannot tell you how sorry I am to hear of the enormous 

 size of my book* I fear it can never pay. But I cannot 

 shorten it now ; nor, indeed, if I had foreseen its length, do 

 I see which parts ought to have been omitted. 



" If you are afraid to publish it, say so at once, I beg you, 

 and I will consider your note as cancelled. If you think fit, 

 get any one whose judgment you rely on, to look over some 

 of the more legible chapters, namely, the Introduction, and 

 on dogs and plants, the latter chapters being, in my opinion, 

 the dullest in the book. . . . The list of chapters, and the 

 inspection of a few here and there, would give a good judge 



* On January 9 he wrote to Sir 

 J. D. Hooker : " I have been these 

 last few days vexed and annoyed 

 to a foolish degree by hearing that 

 my MS. on Dom. An. and Cult. 

 Plants will make 2 vols., both 

 bigger than the ' Origin.' The 

 volumes will have to be full-sized 



octavo, so I have written to Murray 

 to suggest details to be printed in 

 small type. But I feel that the 

 size is quite ludicrous in relation to 

 the subject. I am ready to swear 

 at myself and at every fool who 

 writes a book." 



